1) Field
Embodiments relate to the field of semiconductor manufacturing and, in particular, to systems and methods for providing real time monitoring of residual reactions on a substrate after a processing operation has been implemented.
2) Description of Related Art
Subsequent to some processing operations in semiconductor manufacturing, there may be residual chemical reactions that persist on the substrate. These residual chemical reactions may adversely affect the performance of a semiconductor device. For example, residual chemical reactions may result in corrosion, changes in the properties of the film, or defects. Conversely, some deposited films may require chemical conversion post deposition to a final state prior to subsequent processing operations. However, the residual chemical reaction that is occurring post processing may not always be well understood. For example, the residual chemical reactions may proceed at an unknown rate and/or be dependent on the conditions in which the semiconductor device is stored, such as temperature, humidity, exposure to gasses in the atmosphere, or the like. Accordingly, the ability to quantify the results of the chemical reactions in real time may provide the ability to optimize process conditions to minimize residual chemical reactions and/or optimize process flows and yields.
However, there are no devices currently available that can measure the effects of the residual chemical reactions in real time. Some techniques exist to determine these effects, for example, a defect inspection system may be used to determine the increase in defects over time, or the film thickness may be measured with an ellipsometer to determine differences over time. Unfortunately, these measurements require handling the semiconductor device and can only provide discrete measurements over the duration the devices are monitored.